In May, Oleksandr Usyk fulfilled his work, avenging Tyson Fury, and thus becoming the first ever four belt heavyweight champion of the new era. On Saturday in KSA Usyk will be hoping for another display after he was set to rematch Fury for three world title belts.
Usyk was removed from the IBF title for going through with thisги obligatory pursuant to their initial contest bout with Fury, but absent one of the four belts from that fight, this rematch is no less significant or anticipated.
The first meeting was the first time Fury had tasted defeat as a professional hence ending a 35-bout unbeaten streak that also included two stints as world champion. Despite being the much smaller fighter Usyk, Fury began that fight well by employing his jab and his reach advantage superbly. Fury was so relaxed throughout the early rounds he was moving and taunting that he felt the fight was won.
As the fight progressed into later rounds Usyk was able to adapt and not only start effectively boxing but managed to put Rodriguez down in Round 9. An perfect left hook connected on Fury and the subsequent combination from Usyk put down Fury, 6-foot-9 who almost fell into the ropes which the referee had looked as though Fury was receiving support from since he used the ropes to stand up and thus counted as a knockdown.
The victory over Molin saw Usyk climb up to the highest point of his unbeaten records with a record of 22-0. Even more to the point than his unblemished legal history, Usyk has fought through as an undefeated heavyweight and cruiserweight contender.
Prior to winning the World Boxing Super Series in 2018 and consolidating all four world titles at 200 pounds, Usyk competed in the cruiserweight class. After defeating Chazz Witherspoon in October 2019, Usyk transitioned to the heavyweight class. He won the IBF, WBO, and WBA heavyweight titles after defeating Anthony Joshua in two bouts.
Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov were scheduled to square off in a strong junior middleweight bout on the undercard. Unfortunately, Madrimov contracted bronchitis during training camp and had to leave the fight. He is anticipated to make his next appearance on the main event card of Artur Beterbev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 on February 22nd, when he will take against Vergil Ortiz, another formidable opponent.
The majority would be proven right, according to the first six rounds. Usyk won the first round in part due to Fury's showboating, but the Briton settled into the bout and took firm control.
But in the second half of a thrilling fight, the tide swung, with Usyk gaining ground in rounds seven and eight before hitting Fury with a left hand in the ninth that left him hanging.
Usyk's failure to maintain the pace he had established in the first three rounds allowed Fury end the fight, and for that Fury deserves praise. Even though all three judges gave Fury the 12th round, most onlookers believed Usyk had won before the scorecards were made public.
Despite Fury's 114-113 decision with one judge, Usyk was declared the IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO champion by the other two judges, who awarded him verdicts of 115-112 and 114-113.
Since Daniel Dubois defeated Anthony Joshua in September, Usyk has relinquished the IBF title, but the rematch is still important despite the fact that there is no longer a title on the line.
In addition to having six months to reflect on what went wrong in his first professional loss, Fury has been left to think about what changes he should make to capitalize on the positive indications from rounds three through six.
The card has suffered a significant setback with the withdrawals of Dennis McCann from his contest owing to a failed VADA test and Israil Madrimov from his battle due to pneumonia.
Ishmael Davis, an Englishman who pushed Josh Kelly all the way as a late substitution in September, has stepped in to take on Serhii Bohachuk at 154 pounds. The Englishman deserves another opportunity on a Riyadh Season card.
Welshman without a loss At super-bantamweight, one of the most interesting fights on the schedule is still Rhys Edwards, who is also a deserving opponent for Peter McGrail.
